In Human Footsteps
by Theanimekitty89
Summary: Human AU. In his attempt to create the much needed retro-mutagen to cure his accidentally mutated friends, Donatello is by accident hit with his own cure along with his brothers. Now they've turned human AND lost the formula. An awesome adventure opens up for the Hamato brothers whilst Donnie is trying to re-make the cure, impress April and figure Casey out. Just what is he up to?
1. Prologue: Experiment

**A/N: Here's a little story I've been rolling around my head for a while. I know the plot is not very original but nevertheless I'm not planning in stretching it out for that many chapters. And this is more of a fun and teenage-ish idea more than anything else. So, I hope you'll enjoy!**

* * *

**Prologue.**

Another day.

Another experiment.

Another note latched onto a beaker with the word '**failure**' in bold format along with a small explanation behind said failure of said experiment. To say that it was starting to get depressing was an understatement but he was so close and no matter what, he would not give up hope just yet.

Donatello pinched the skin between his eyes with a sigh that signalled his tiredness, writing fast words on documents that he put aside as he rose up from chair. His body felt painfully stiff from sitting in the exact position for the past few hours which could be confirmed by the small kinks that sounded as he stretched his neck and worked his shoulders. Rubbing his checks, chestnut brown eyes landed on the alarm clock on his work table whose red numbers showed him that he had yet again been up till the ungodly hours of night while his family was asleep.

The reason for this was simple; he was pushing his body's limits till its fullest because he was really close to finding the formula for the retro-mutagen that would cure all those unintended mutations that had occurred throughout the last few months. Especially, he wanted to be able to cure Timothy and Mr. O'Neil whose mutations have had the greatest impact on them. He would be lying if he said that April wasn't a great motivator for his experiments as of late.

Sure, there would be an inner reward in curing those other mutants, but seeing his favourite redhead wear that beautiful smile and gleam in her azure eyes would definitely be enough of a reward for this turtle. But up until now, his experiments had shown to have no results which had practically drained the determination from the intelligent turtle at first.

But then as he'd kept trying – and after a whole lotta mugs of caffeine – Donnie began progressing and each failed test proved to show just how much closer he was getting. He knew that at this rate he might actually get something useful if he kept up this way. That's why he didn't leave his lab and why he wasn't seen at all around his brothers, but they understood not to disturb him when he was in this state of mind and came in with a tray of fresh food and his coffee so that he wouldn't collapse from starvation.

A yawn was drawn from the purple-banded turtle and as he put another batch of modified mutagen inside the centrifuge, he could feel that his eye-lids were growing very much heavy. Staring at the spinning motions that the centrifuge was making did not help him stay awake in the slightest and he had to keep a steady grip onto the edges of the table because his shoulders were giving up on him. Simply standing on his feet became a difficult task, so he sat down again as he waited. Putting his documents away, laying his head on his arms and just letting the calming, steady hum of the machinery lull him to sleep…

* * *

Donatello woke up abruptly by the sudden sounds of a functioning television, objects falling to the floor and his brothers' laughter and shouts. That wasn't usually a good sign.

The olive turtle rubbed his head that throbbed just slightly to signal an incoming headache. He really shouldn't sleep on the desks; it did little good to his body. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he noticed two things; according to the clock he'd only slept half the hours of what he should have and that his batch of retro-mutagen was done. Donnie reached out to grab the beaker carefully between his fingers due to them shaking slightly in anticipation.

He had much faith in that this particular experiment would turn out to show positive results, he could feel it in his gut. Now as a precaution, he just had to write down the exact measurements of the ingredients used and the different temperatures taking whilst heating up the mutagen in case this turns out to be a success.

Using his other unoccupied hand to take hold of a measuring cup containing the rest of the retro-mutagen he had modified, Donatello moved to put it aside and perhaps finally end his work so that he could socialize with the rest of his family.

But before that ever happened, a large crash could be heard that caused his door to burst open, also causing the young scientist to nearly jump and spill batch of his retro-mutagen.

He scowled angrily at the source of noise which turned out to be his two eldest brothers Leo and Raph, bickering over who had rightfully won the last round during their game of 'Ninja Dodge ball'. Which meant they were playing around with the Kraang Orb a_gain_.

"Do you mind knocking the door before you enter so thoughtlessly next time? I'd like to be at least mentally prepared for your disturbing," Donnie said dryly as he cautiously tried not to spill anything. His brothers, however, ignored his comment in favour of focusing on their task at hand which was to find their missing youngest brother who apparently had their 'ball'.

"Mikey's trying to hit us both while we're distracted and score the last point," Leo shushed as they both looked around in search of him.

"Too bad my fist will collide with the back of his head before that ever happens," Raph snorted as a reply.

"May I ask why you're looking for him in here? It _should_ be kind of obvious that I'm quite busy."

"Don't worry, we'll leave in a second. You sure you didn't see him sneaking around in here?"

"Yes." Which was maybe a lie because Donatello had been so engulfed in his work that he wouldn't know if anyone had entered his lab in stealth-mode. But everything to make these people leave him be and do his job; he longed to finally use his limbs properly. His brain's have had enough exercise for now.

And then Mikey had appeared.

How in the world that little goofball had managed to slip unseen over behind the tables underneath the desks really boggled the mind. If Mikey just converted that stealth into his training, they'd all be in for a surprise. The orange-banded turtle emerged from the shadows with a big grin and the Kraang Orb above his head, readying himself for the victorious strike that would give him enough teasing material so that Raph and Leo would never taunt him for the rest of the…week.

And with Donnie caught between the crossfire, Mikey could just rub that extra satisfaction into his intelligent brother's face. With that last thought, Mikey released a loud _'booyakasha!_' before leaping into the air and sending the piece of alien technology crashing onto his three brothers.

Donatello hadn't even enough time to yell a 'Wait, Mikey!' before the Orb crashed onto his plastron and knocked the air out of him.

Horrified, he lost his grip on his retro-mutagen.

Closing his eyes, he felt the burning sensation raining down upon him like acid, painfully and agonizing and the weird part was that he wasn't screaming alone.

As he landed violently on the floor next to his brothers in a mass of pain, he could feel his mind spinning and his eyes rolling over to welcome the darkness.

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**A/N: owo Very short start xDD The chapters will be longer, hopefully. My first chappies are always short –w- **


	2. Results

**A/N: Wow, didn't that many would be interested in a human-fic :D One question though, I have in mind of including Alex and Casey; Alex is mainly to add some fun and Casey to add some romance. So here's the deal, would some of you be (incredibly) offended if I wrote some Human!Donnie/April/Casey stuff and possibly Jonatello as well? (Jones + Donatello = xD) **

**If it's too much, I can very well change the pairings, honest xD Please leave a review to inform me if this is the case.**

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**I: Results.**

"Hey, Ape, I've actually been thinking 'bout something."

"Hn?" April blinked curiously as she and Alex were carrying stacks of pizza, popcorn and drinks through the secret sewer tunnels, on their way to have a film marathon of **SRMFF** (**S**uper **R**obo **M**echa **F**orce **F**ive) with the Turtles this Sunday afternoon.

"I mean, the guys are teens just like us, and they just eat n' eat and still look (pretty much) as healthy as ever. I haven't seen as much as a zit on their faces, which is pretty weird," the dark-haired girl puffed annoyingly. "How come _they_'re not affected by being in their teenage-years?"

The redhead just shrugged as much as she was able to with a small smile. "Jealous much?"

"Totally – I mean, _no_!"

"Well, they _are_ part turtles and part human, Alex. I don't know much about their combined biology but that should be as good enough an answer as any. Besides, maybe all their intense training burns off all the calories or something."

The other girls rolled her eyes. "Like that's gonna stop pizza with three layers of cheese and six different kinds of meat from sitting on your hips. It's _inevitable_."

"You can relate?"

"You bet – eh, I meant, _eyes on the road, Ape_!"

April giggled as they entered an unusually silent Lair that held no teenage turtle whatsoever. The TV was running in the background and the couch had been prepared with blankets and fluffy pillows for the girls' arrival but it seemed as if no one was home.

"Yo!" Alex called out. "It's basically slavery if we're paying and carrying all the snacks! C'mere and at least take 'em off our hands for a while, will you!"

No answer was given and it confused April as much as pissing Alex off.

"I'll give 'em a piece of my mind about how this hide-n'-seek game turned boring two minutes ago," the girl scowled as she placed her stuff on the small coffee-table in front of the TV and went was determined to find the Hamato brothers.

Heading straight for Donatello's lab.

"Do you think they've gone out?" April asked as she also put the snacks away. Her friend merely shook her head.

"It's way too bright outside. I'll show you that they're just tryna play a prank on us," she placed her gloved fingers onto the door-knob. "Too bad I already got them figured out."

And then she opened the door.

* * *

Pain could distinctly be felt everywhere upon his body as Donatello slowly opened his eyes, squinting them as the bright lighting of the room overpowered his brain that was just barely awake. His limbs felt weird and aching as if a million blows had landed on his body, his mind felt hazy and he was aware that it was freezing. Odd, there never appeared to be a temperature-problem in his lab because it was usually even, except on occasional winter days. Donnie had slight difficulties in raising himself up to a sitting position during which his brain had become more operative and started functioning properly again.

A paralysing sensation froze him as his eyes stared at something. His legs, his feet. They weren't his. Franticly, he held his arms before him and let out a choked gasp. His arms weren't his either! They were slender, paler, and _not green at all_. He stared in terrifying astonishment as he counted _five fingers_ on his hands instead of three big ones, his wrist-bands and bandages all lying in an untidy pile underneath him. Quickly raising his shaking hands to his face he could feel a nose, fuller lips, eyebrows _and_ eyelashes tickling the palm of his hands under the alien touch. Finally, he swallowed hard as he tentatively placed a hand on his head, his long fingers running through locks of slightly thick hair that covered most of his forehead and went to the tip of his shoulders.

Donatello was close at collapsing once again from progressing this mind-boggling occurrence, when the door to his lab opened unexpectedly and the all too familiar face of Alex stared back at him. A bright blush coloured her face red as she gasped audibly and slammed the door shut again. The genius was dimly aware of her loud shouts of '_my virgin eyes! They're buuuuurning!_', causing him to notice his lack of clothing for the first time in his entire life. And then he remembered.

Sleepless all-nighters, his final product of retro-mutagen, the 'Ninja Dodge ball' Game and an agonizing pain all over his body before he was out cold. And now from the looks of it…

His cure had turned out to be a great success.

It would've been such a great accomplishments if it weren't for the fact that _he was a human now_.

And yeah, that Alex had seen him completely naked. Not exactly a big accomplishment _there_.

Donnie's cheeks heated up in embarrassing realization; if Alex were here, that meant they were back from the grocery store which meant that, _holy cow, April was there too_. Scrambling awkwardly on all fours, he managed to reach to his door and lock it securitly before slumping down against it with a sigh, only to jump away from the coldness that radiated from the steel door against his naked skin. Crap, his shell was gone too. That scared him immensely as well as fascinated him by the thought that he had never been able to actually _touch_ his own back.

Small groans of pain nearby caught his ears and he turned his attention to his brothers. Donatello couldn't contain a gasp at what met his eyes; he couldn't recognize them at all. As if they weren't his brothers at all. Raph's flame-red hair must've caught his attention first; his short hair being cut in the back and spiked up from the top of his head. He had kept his visible muscle-mass, as well as bright green eyes and his skin wore a delicate tan since he was naturally the darkest-skinned brother of them all.

Leo's hair was probably the darkest of all four though; it almost appeared to be black. It was hanging low in bangs in front of his stormy blue eyes and reached to the back of his neck. His skin was a normal colour, a tad lighter than Raphael's and the tense muscles on his upper-arm was also a little less than what his younger brother had.

Mikey's hair was the lightest; his blonde endless mop of curls somewhat not surprising the genius brother. Freckles decorated his light skin in the similar fashion when he was a turtle. His bright blue eyes had also stayed the same as well as the barely visible muscles that appeared on his body.

Donatello must admit, the facial features and characterizing traits were not completely off from those of their turtle-forms. He only wondered if the same thing had applied to himself as well, as his brothers slowly started to fully awaken.

And now the terror could officially begin.

* * *

"You saw _what_?" April asked in concern, only a hint of disbelief laced into her question as well.

"I-It was a bunch of naked guys sleeping on the floor of Donnie's lab! I've never been surer in my life!" Alex said convincingly, a red hue still visible on her cheeks. "They were human guys and they were naked! One of 'em even looked at me!"

"How did he look?" the redhead asked curiously.

"_Very_ naked, gah, you want me to go into details?" the black-haired girl replied embarrassingly. "And kinda cute. Had these reddish brown eyes and dark hair and – _fuck it_, I wasn't staring at 'im!"

April rolled her eyes and tossed a bunch of blankets over to Alex, explaining, "If we want to kick those guys out of here while the guys are away, at least have them cover themselves with these. And maybe inform Master Splinter about this; he might know where the others have gone to."

"Sounds like a plan," Alex nodded in agreement and pulled the redhead in front of her. "You go first."

After another eye-roll, April hesitantly knocked a few times on the steel-door, adding a last loud one for good measure. "You are on private property! We'll hand you some blankets to cover up for your lack of clothing but that's as much niceness you get from us. You have two minutes. Leave peacefully and no harm will be done!"

"Speak fo' yourself, girl," Alex placed a hand on her hip with a look of disapproval. "No harm was done to _you_. One way or another, I _will _beat that guy's ass."

* * *

"Donnie, what did you _do_?"

The incredulous exclamation from Raphael angered the other brother greatly, on account that none of this was his fault, really. "I didn't _do_ anything! In fact, all I've been trying to do these last few days is helping everyone who has had the misfortunate of being mutated due to the Kraang's mutagen, that I made the cure for which almost seemed impossible, but now the three of you succeeded in ruining it with your stupid round of _Ninja Dodge ball!_"

"Ninja Dodge ball. Is not. Stupid," Mikey said carefully. "Mind you, it takes _a lot_ of brains to dodge a giant Kraang-designed ball."

"Well, didn't take no brains for you to spill all of that shit over us that hurt like a b-."

"Raphael, _not_ the time," Leo scolded annoyingly, flexing his fingers tentatively and frowned upon looking at them. "Donnie, I thought the purpose of the retro-mutagen was to turn anyone who had been exposed to mutagen into their original form."

The genius glanced at the dark-haired boy that was his leader. "It's supposed to. The retro-mutagen should have turned us into our original form, but somehow it turned us into humans instead. Perhaps the modification was a little off from my calculations or…I must've not been fully aware of what I was doing due to lack of sleep, though I-I highly doubt the latter," the genius gulped as Raph sent him an annoyed glare. "Think positive; if I had made the retro-mutagen correctly, we would've been normal turtles by now with no way of turning back whatsoever!"

Leonardo nodded. "Yeah, it could have been much worse."

The newly changed redhead snickered smugly. "You could be naturally blonde like Mikey."

"Hey!" the youngest pouted in irritation, his attention taken from exploring his new nose, hair and fingers, as well as toes. "Girls _dig_ blondes, bro. Can't say the same about gingers, dude."

"I'm _not_ a ginger," the other growled to which the blonde surrendered in quick defeat. Suddenly they heard a banging on the door and April's voice drifting from it, commanding them to cover themselves with blankets and leave the Lair, much to the boys' confusion.

"Why would April say something like that?" Mikey asked as he struggled to stand up on wobbly legs, while he and Leo supported one another. "Ugh, my body feels so weird."

"It's probably because it'll take time to adapt to your newly transformed body, not to mention your added limbs," Donatello replied as he grabbed a blanket that was thrown at the floor. His next reply caused his face to light up once again. "And…Alex was in here briefly while you were still out."

The boys froze at the same time, staring at the genius in question as he wavered under their intense gazes. "She didn't see much – I mean, anything, I swear!"

"I wonder how Master Splinter will take this," Leo said quietly in his own thoughts.

"Tch. Probably a hell of a lot better than Alex did," Raph replied casually.

The door flew up and the two girls came in, both sighing in relief that the four teenage boys were covered nicely in the blankets so that no parts were exposed except from their feet.

"Okay, boys, I'm not sure how you came in but I'm more than happy to show ya the way out," the long-haired teen said, jabbing her thumb towards the exit. "Now move your naked asses off the floor before the owner gets real pissed off."

"I _am_ the owner," a voice said. "And actually I'm not too happy about this."

Alex and April stared at one another in confusion. "No, you aren't," April replied. "Quit talking nonsense."

"No, April, it's _me_, Donatello," the brown-haired boy with the wavy hair said. "It really is."

The two girls continued to stare at the particular guy with only a blanket wrapped around himself, their gazes shifting to each of the three other boys before gasping in utter surprise. "Oh, wow," the redhead breathed out. "That's so cool…"

"Sure it is, but, _gah_, why didn't you _say_ something, then?!" Alex face-palmed, shaking her head. "I need bleach for my eyes."

"Fine," the genius blushed. "and if you could call Casey to get him to bring some clothes as well, that'd be just terrific."

* * *

**A/N: :D**

**Good? Bad? JONATELLO?**

**Reviews are my drug and my fuel! **


	3. Adaption

**A/N: I'm so sorry (for lack of updates)**

**And for thinking that I could write a straight pairing.**

**But I can't, I'm so sorry but there has to be Jonatello, even if it means a little. (which I'm sure there will be)**

**But I vow to at least add some Apritello as well so not to scare away the non-slash readers xD Once again, so sorry.**

**P.s. I'm happy that you're taking Alex' intrusion so well –w- and that so many of you reviewed! Makes me very happy indeed~**

* * *

**III: Adaption.**

"I gotta admit; when you guys called I seriously thought you were tryna fool me."

"Yeah, s'just proves that it took _five tries_ to finally make ya realize that we didn't."

The young, dark-haired hockey-player huffed, arms folded as he sat upon a chair with his legs crossed as well. "Well _excuse _me, for thinking twice about actually trusting what you said! 'Cause hey; you_ were_ just humanoid turtles less than twenty-four hours ago, and now yer…just human. That's seriously mind-blowing."

As earlier told, the girls phoned Casey and quickly filled him in with the most needed details and a note about bringing a large bag of clothes for the now human teenagers who so urgently required it. He had arrived half an hour later and as much as his reaction of pure bewilderment proved to be absolutely hilarious, the four brothers decided to just take his bag instead and grab whatever piece of clothing they could find. (Because only wearing a blanket on your naked frame tended to get a bit chilly.)

"It's so _easy_ to pull clothes on when you don't have a shell," Mikey remarked excitingly, looking himself over from all angles and aspects and rolling the sleeves up on his white shirt to reveal more of his new skin. "We totally need to get us a mirror; I can't get enough of me!"

"We can," Raph replied dryly. "Hence the lacking mirrors."

"That was then, now is different," the blonde ignored the comment with a hand raised to wave it dismissively towards his older brother. "If you got more taunts up your sleeve, I suggest you talk to the five-fingered hand. Now with an added finger only meant for you!"

Leonardo rolled his blue eyes at the answering growls emerging behind him, playing with the small threads of fabric from the grey sweatshirt he wore as a distant and slightly worried look crept over his features. "Sensei's almost done with his meditation, guys. Any ideas on how we're going to deliver the bad news?"

None replied the leader as the sound of shattering glass created dramatic silence as well as causing everyone to turn their heads towards the source. Leo's breath hitched as he saw the widened eyes of his Master; how they slowly gained their normal size as a more calculated and analysing look overtook him, his long tail swishing more than normal thus revealing his true emotions than those on his face that he had hidden away so well.

"Nani…" the rat master said breath-taken, though the steady and hard gaze that fell on the four newly-transformed humans was a strong contrast to the tone in his voice. "April, Casey and Alex; what is the meaning of this? Who're these men that you have so openly brought into our home?"

The two girls slowly glanced on each other, before April replied Master Splinter, her gaze slightly lowered and a hand tugging a strand of red hair behind her ear awkwardly. "…they're…they're your sons, Sensei. I-It may not look like it…but it's the truth."

The mutant rat once again let the surprise overtake him as he eyed the boys individually and his sharp eyes could clearly make out the facial and characterizing traits that used to lay in his terrapin-sons and that now were shown through the bodies of these human men. Splinter's breathing became a little irregular as the realization dwelled upon him slow but firmly; a hand was run through his dark-brown fur on his head in order to calm himself down, and in those seconds he noticed how all four boys had surrounded him. They supported him, guided him to the couch and asked to his well-being, their voices having slightly changed but had the same clang as usual.

But despite the major changes in their physical appearances, he could see how the blonde boy with the curly hair bit his lower lip and how his eyes were slightly larger; a usual habit for Michelangelo whenever some member of the family were ill or had become injured. Master Splinter also noticed that the frown upon the redheaded boy's face was similar to that of Raphael; when his concern and worry for a brother would make him go to the extreme in order to insure the health of said brother; even if it meant ignoring his own limits. The way the tallest boy with the wavy brown hair attempted to make him sit more comfortably and took his temperature was clearly akin to that of Donatello; the turtle blessed with intelligence as well a thirst for knowledge that not only lead him to become the inventor of the team of four turtles; but also the one with the necessary medical equipment that was required if needed and therefore becoming the doctor of the team as well.

Last but not least, the boy who stood right in front of the rat master, bend down on the same eye-level and with a hand placed upon his shoulder was without any doubt none other than his oldest son; Leonardo. The dark-blue eyes that held emotions such as fear and insecurity were those who haunted the turtle whenever he would question his Master's choice of his position as the first-in-command as well as his leadership. Master Splinter knew those eyes all too well and he most definitely wouldn't mistake them for anyone else than his oldest and most skilled son in the art of ninjutsu.

"Master…" the dark-haired boy before him gulped nervously.

"I…will require a throughout explanation with all the necessary details involved," the rat said quite shakily. "But…I do no doubt for a second that you four are my sons."

Slowly, the four brothers began to smile in response to their Father's words and Mikey threw himself at his Sensei with a bear-hug. "Master!"

"A throughout explanation wouldn't sound so bad," Casey waved to catch their attention. "Er, not to interrupt the family-bonding."

"Amen," Alex nodded in agreement. "I think it'd be good time to tell us. And don't let out the part where you explain _why the hell you're even humans to begin with_."

Still sitting around their Master, the three other brothers turned to their intelligent member, their gazes prompting him to explain the cause of their transformation. Annoyed by the fact that _he_ was left to justify the consequences of _their_ actions, Donatello tapped a finger against his thigh in thought of how he was going to formulate his words so that he would get around the most essential details while he wouldn't get interrupted for speaking in terms that possibly only Splinter and April would get. "Very well, it all began like this…"

They all listened closely to his formulation, the tall human only pausing to ensure that they had understood so far which they answered with a simple nod. After explaining what had happened to them, Donnie started to voice his theory on how the retro-mutagen didn't have the desired effect that should have turned any mutated creature into their original form, but instead due to possible miscalculation and most likely also due to lack of sleep, the unpredictable alien substance had therefore been modified with the undesired effect of turning mutants to humans when exposed with a certain quantity. The questions that came afterwards were similar to those that circled in his own mind; questions that he himself had no answer for as of now.

"I cannot say much about the state of our transformation or for how long exactly it will last; if it even does have a time-limit," the dark-haired boy said, raising himself to make his way towards his lab. "I'll have to run some tests and do some research to find out – whoa!"

The whole living-room had gone upside down in a matter of seconds and the boy was certain that his face would've been lying smack against the floor, if a pair of arms hadn't caught him just in time. Startled, he steadied himself with the support of his rescuer who happened to be Casey. The hockey-player eyed him from top to toe in friendly concern while his hands hadn't completely gone away from the other. "Easy there, Don. No need to rush things."

"Right," Donnie replied hesitantly, wondering why he didn't feel bothered by the displayed affection from his rival in love. Sure, he knew that he and Casey got along with much less hostility than when they first got to know each other, but then again, Donnie _had _expected Casey to simply let him fall and make him look like a fool in front of April.

He knows that'd be _his_ plan if the roles were reversed.

"I'm afraid I'll have to wait with those tests though; judging from how we're capable of moving our bodies but only for a certain amount of time before the disorientation kicks in, we need time to adjust not just physically but mentally as well," Donatello placed a hand on his forehead. "I know that's what I need if I'll ever find a way to turn us back."

"We know you'll find a way, Donnie," April said, sending him a hopeful smile that helped boosting his mood. "But try not to overload yourself, okay?"

Donatello nodded, sending a smile of his own over his shoulder before turning to open the door to his lab. His breath hitched in shock as he took in the sight before him; all of his precious and valuable items were spread across the room, each in a worse state than the other. He remembered bits of what had happened way earlier as the substance hit him; in the moments of chaos and utter pain, he must've knocked over the desk at his working-space; thereby causing all of the objects he had used nights before to become damaged. Some were even exposed with leftovers of the acid-like mutagen and wore holes as a result; his measurement devices, his working tools, his paper-journals of past work with the mutagen…all gone.

He couldn't believe how he had overseen this. Of course he had a lot of other things to worry about back then, but maybe if he had reacted quick enough, he could've at least saved _something_.

"Whoa…" Alex replied as the others inched closer to the tallest brother who appeared more or less shells-hocked. "Aw, Donnie…s'everything-."

"Damaged beyond repair," the dark-haired boy replied quietly, gazing down upon his five-fingered hands. "I'm not so sure I even could repair them if I had the chance."

"Well, uh…" Mikey scratched his curly head, trying to find to something to say that would cheer his brother up. This was kinda his fault anyway. "Your laptop's still intact! Don't you do much of your research on your computer anyway?"

"Yes, but…" Donnie shook his head. "What good would they be if I don't possess the required equipment to study our new bodies?"

There was silence in the Lair as none held the answer to the spoken question; all gazes cast downwards in concentration while Donatello still mourned over the loss of his tools.

A snap of fingers broke the silence.

"That calls for a trip to the surface, don't you think?"

* * *

**A/N: I hope this update proved good enough to satisfy you for a few weeks until the next arrives xD Once again, thank you so much for the reviews; they're very encouraging and very comforting x)**


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